When we think of the places where diamond mining occurs, most of us shy away from the whole concept of African diamonds due to our apprehension that we may be purchasing diamonds from a conflict area. The term “conflict diamonds” or “blood diamonds” generally refers to diamonds which have been mined in a war zone and sold to financially support an insurgency, invading army, or the activity of a warlord. The term is normally associated with the African continent, which is incredibly rich both in diamonds and in civil and guerilla warfare. That thought brings us to Botswana, a small country in Southern Africa, which happens to be home to the world’s biggest open-pit diamond mine.

Although the average reader will no doubt associate any reference to Africa and diamonds with the conflict diamond industry, Botswana is quite a different matter. African countries like Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a long and brutally violent past and present which has often been funded in part by the sale of conflict diamonds. Fortunately, Botswana is not one of them. In fact, Botswana has not been involved in any armed conflict, civil war, or guerilla insurgency as of late. The country has actually used its diamond resources in order to expand its economy and its standing in the world. Botswana is a land-locked country so aside from diamond mines, it does not have a great many other natural resources, or even direct access to a large body of water. If it were not for the diamonds found in their plentiful soil, the country would still be a dirt-poor nation barely eking its living from the dry earth.

The government owns 50% of Debswana, the largest diamond mining company in the country. As a result, Botswana has been able to maintain a remarkable level of economic freedom in comparison to other African nations. The mineral industry currently provides 40% of all government income. The government has gone to great lengths to get as much from their diamond resources as possible, helping to build a secure nation on the luck that such soil has brought them. Though with great industriousness coming to a young and originally impoverished nation there is always room for those who would take advantage of such sudden wealth and power, Botswana is known to be one of the least corrupt nations in Africa. In fact, Botswana has taken a strong stand against all that makes African diamonds seem so distasteful to the world at large.

Listed as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Botswana has gone from being one of the world’s poorer countries to a middle-income country with a standard of living much like that of Turkey or Mexico. Although it has one of the world’s highest HIV infection rates, Botswana has been able to offer anti-retroviral drug therapy and a preventative program for mother-to-child transmission that has brought the rate of children infected with HIV by their parents from 40% to 4%. Thanks to diamonds, the population of Botswana receives free primary school education, and has access to secondary and university level education at reasonably high-levels and with the possibility of government funding. This only goes to show that while we are correct in being wary regarding African diamonds, conflict diamond production does not represent the African diamond industry in its entirety. Those involved in the diamond industry and diamond consumers in general should keep in mind that diamonds from Botswana go to support one of the only economically developed countries on the African continent.